Unlike most contemporary Irish bands, Lúnasa has no singer, preferring instead to focus on purely instrumental music. But on The Merry Sisters of Fate, the playing of flautist Kevin Crawford, fiddler Sean Smyth, and uilleann piper Cillian Vallely is so lyrical you hardly notice the lack. The three lead players are supported by guitarist Donogh Hennesy and bassist Trevor Hutchinson, who create a sound that is rhythmically supple and harmonically complex while still being deeply rooted in tradition. All members of the band are topnotch players, but what sets Lúnasa apart from other Irish bands is the inventiveness of arrangements that skillfully weave the sounds of such nontraditional instruments as lap steel guitar, clarinet, and harmonium with the standard flutes, fiddles, and pipes. The sound that Lúnasa creates is undeniably modern, but they play these old jigs and reels with a combination of grace and conviction that will have even the most hidebound purist itching to get up and dance. --Michael Simmons